Jordan Cooper is hoping to give his new club Keith the extra edge when they face his former employers Turriff United this weekend.
The midfielder left Turra for the Maroons at the end of last week, but will return to the Haughs on Saturday when the sides meet in the Breedon Highland League.
Cooper is hoping his knowledge of how United operate can benefit Keith.
The 24-year-old said: “It’s funny how things work out – I’ll be fired up for the game and it’ll be good to go up against my old team-mates.
“When you’re up against boys you know well there will be a bit of banter and we’ll both be determined to win.
“In my time at Turriff we didn’t manage to beat Keith, so hopefully that run continues now I’m at Keith.
“I’ve been telling the manager what I know about Turriff, so hopefully that can help us as well.
“I’m looking forward to it and both teams will be up for it.”
— Turriff United Football Club (@TurriffUnitedFC) July 21, 2023
Cooper spent the past two years with Turriff, but thought his opportunities may be limited this term and decided to look for a move.
He added: “The squad at Turriff is quite big and I didn’t see myself playing week-in, week-out as I’d hoped.
“I was gutted to be leaving Turriff, because I’ve made a lot of friends there, but it was the right time for me to move on.
“I’m at the stage where I want to be playing regularly so I asked Dean Donaldson if I could leave.
“But I’ve not got a bad word to say about Turriff.”
Cooper’s drive to be successful
Cooper made his Keith debut in the 1-1 draw with Clachnacuddin at the weekend.
Although the Maroons finished 15th in the Highland League last season, he is optimistic about the future.
Cooper, who has signed a three-year deal at Kynoch Park, said: “I spoke to Liam Cheyne (who moved from Turriff to Keith last month) about it when I heard Keith were interested.
“Both Liam and the manager Craig Ewen really sold it to me.
“It’s a club with good history and there’s a really good atmosphere at Keith.
“My drive is to try to win games of football for Keith. I want to be as successful as we can be.
“I know people maybe don’t view Keith as a team that will be challenging for trophies, but I think you’ve got to be ambitious and want to keep improving.
“With the young players in our squad, I think we can improve and progress over the next couple of years.
“From what I’ve seen, there’s plenty of talent in the squad.”
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